A private armed group (PAG) responsible for the series of killings in Negros Oriental has been neutralized following the death of a key member, a police official said on Tuesday, August 1.

In a press briefing, Colonel Ronan Claravall, acting police provincial director, said the death of alleged hired gun Alex Mayagma on Monday, July 31, would lead to the eventual downfall of the group.

“Mayagma is a PAG member operating in Negros Oriental. There are still members, but they are already crippled due to previous arrests as a result of intensified operations,” Claravall told reporters in a briefing held at the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) headquarters in Sibulan town.

Mayagma, tagged as the topmost wanted person in the Central Visayas region, was shot dead in Bayawan City’s Barangay Malabugas, after he allegedly pulled out a gun and engaged cops in a scuffle.

Claravall said that even before he was assigned to Negros Oriental, police and military personnel were already searching for Mayagma after his name cropped up several times during a Senate inquiry into the assassination of Governor Roel Degamo last March 4.

Lt. Colonel Stephen Polinar, NOPPO information officer, said records show Mayagma was facing charges related to the killing of Board Member Miguel Dungog in 2019, Lester Bato (2019), Randy Rabin (2021), Juvim Esteñoso (2022), Ramon Jalbuna (2022) and Winchita Laag (2023).

The status of the cases were not immediately known, Polinar said. (PNA)